Closing device for containers



April 1966 G. BROWN 3,244,309

CLOSING DEVICE FOR CONTAINERS Filed Dec. 21, 1964 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR. LAWRENCE GEORGE BROWN YWM ATTORNEY April 5, 1966 3, BROWN 3,244,309

CLOSING DEVICE FOR CONTAINERS Filed Dec. 21, 1964 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 I N VEN TOR. LAWRENCE GEORGE BROWN ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,244,309 CLOSING DEVICE FOR CONTAINERS Lawrence George Brown, Upper Darby Township, Delaware County, Pa. (48 Ave. de Collonge, Montreux, Switzerland) Filed Dec. 21, 1964, Ser. No. 419,956 Claims. (Cl. 21552) The present invention relates to a closing device for a container, especially for a bottle.

It is the purpose of this invention to design a closing device which can be installed and removed very easily and without the use of a tool.

The closing device according to the invention is characterized by a closing member equipped with achamber which is filled with a gas or a liquid and closed on all sides, and a displacement member adjustable along the closing member. The latter allows, by elastic deformation of a first part of the chamber wall within its sphere, an elastic deformation of a second part of the chamber wall by means of the liquid or the gas, respectively, in such a way that it clasps a part of the container along an annular area and rests tightly against this annular area.

; The attached drawings illustrate some practical examples of the subject of the present invention.

FIGURES l, 2, 3, 4, and 5 are longitudinal sections of a first, second, third, fourth and fifth design, respectively; FIGURES 6 and 7 are similar longitudinal sections of a sixth design, theparts being shown in. two dilferent positions.

In the dilferent designs, 1 means the container which consists of a glass bottle. in the designs according to FIGURES 1 to 4, the neck or" the bottle has a bulge la projecting outside.

-The example according to FIGURE 1 has a closing member 2 which consists of a lid of thermoplastic synthetic resin or similar material. This lid has a uniform cavity which is completely-filled with liquid or gas; it consists of an annular cavity 3 in the free border of the mantle of the lid, an annular cavity 4 in a projection on the interior side of the bottom of the lid, and a channel 5 which connects the annular cavities 3 and 4 freely to each other. The closing device includes, besides, a displacement member 6; it has the shape of a screw with a fiat, wide head 6a which is located in the bottleneck, and a stem 6b which penetrates a central opening of the closing lid and carries a nut 7. By actuating the latter nut, the displacement member can be adjusted along the closing member. Upon adjustment upward and outward, respectively, the displacement member acts upon a first part of the chamber wall 8, located within its sphere and confining the inner cavity 4 in its lower half; thereby the chamber wall part 8 undergoes an elastic deformation, decreasing the volume of the cavity 4 and thus displacing liquid or gas from this cavity 4 outward through the channel 5 into the outer cavity 3. A second part of the chamber wall 9 which can also undergo elastic deformation confines this cavity 3 on its side which is facing the shoulder 1b of the bulge 1a of the bottleneck. By the liquid or gas pressed into the cavity 3, the second chamber wall (part 9), undergoes such an elastic deformation that its clasps the shoulder lb just mentioned and rests tightly against it. The part of the wall which surrounds the cavity 4 on its circumference rests, at the same time, against the uppermost part of the wall of the bottleneck In at the inside, thus counteracting from inside the force applied from the outside on the end portion of the bottleneck by the chamber wall part 9. As soon as the user screws off the nut 7 of the lid a little from the displacement body 6, the latter can shift axially inward and allow the first chamber wall part 8 to return, due to its elasticity, into its initial position, thus enlarging the cavity 4. Then the latter takes up liquid or gas from the cavity 3 and the second part of the wall 9 can be pushed beyond the bulge 1a of the bottleneck. This means, that now the closing lid 2 can be removed from the container.

The second design, shown in FIGURE 2, includes also a cap-like closing member 102; but the first wall part 108, which can undergo elastic deformation, is situated between the toroidal cavity 104 and a central cavity of an interior projection 111 of the bottom of the lid. The cavity 110 is separated from the interior of the container by the bottom 112 of the projection 111. The displacement member consists of a stopper 106 with the actuating lug 106a; the stopper can be shifted in the central cavity 110 and thus have such an eifect on the wall part 108 that the cavity 104 decreases in size and the liquid or gas is displaced from this cavity 104 through the channel 5 into the cavity 3, which is confined inside-as in the first design-by the second wall part 9 which can undergo elastic deformation.

The design according to FIGURE 3 also is quite similar to the designs described above. The closing member 202 includes, in a similar way as the one in FIGURE 2, a cavity 204, which has the shape of a horseshoe in this design, the channel 5 and the cavity 3. The bottom of the lid has a transverse slot 213 which is T-shaped in profile and has a certain inclination to the outer front face of the bottom of the lid; it includes an adjustable displacement member 206 in the form of a push-bar. In one position, this push-bar 206 acts upon the first wall part 208, which can undergo elastic deformation, displacing liquid or gas from the cavity 204 into the cavity 3 and thus pressing the secon wall part 9 against the shoulder 1b of the bulge 1a of the bottleneck. Upon shifting of the push-bar 206 into the other position, the liquid or gas can flow back from the cavity 3 into the cavity 204, thus allowing removal of the closing lid from the container.

In the design according to FIGURE 4, the first wall part 308 which can undergo elastic deformation is located in the center, on the outer face of the closing cap 302. The cavity 304 confined by it on the outside is again connected to the cavity 3 by the channel 5; cavity 3 is confined inside by the second elastically deformable wall part 9. The bottom of the lid has the projections 314 and 315 on the outside. The displacement member is designed as a rigid lever 306 which is pivoted to the projection 314. When this lever is turned towards the bottom of the cap, its center portion acts upon the first wall part 308, displacing liquid or gas from the cavity 304 into the cavity 3, pressing the second wall part 9 against the shoulder 1b of the bulge in of the bottleneck. The lever can be secured in this position by catching in the hook-shaped projection 315.

The design according to FIGURE 5 has a closing member 402, where a plate 416 is connected through a hollow cylinder 417 with a part 418 which confines, from all sides, a cavity 403 which is at least approximately spherical in the operating position of the closing member. The plate 416 has a central threaded hole 419 into which the threaded portion of a pin-shaped displacement member 406 can be screwed. This way the displacement member can be adjusted with its part 420 in such a way that the latter acts upon the first wall part 408 facing it, thus expanding the second part of the wall 409; this then clasps the part 10 of the bottle which widens towards the interior of the container, and rests tightly against the inner face of this bottle part 10. Upon screwing back the displacement member 406, the wall parts 408 and 409 return, due to their elasticity, into the shown position; then the closing member 402 can be easily pulled out of the neck of the bottle.

In the designs according to FEGURES 6 and 7, the closing member 592 consists of an annular plate 521 which comprises two bag-shaped, elastically flexible membranes, an outer membrane 522 and an inner membrane 523, made from one piece. The mantle wall of the outer membrane 522 is cylindrical, its outer diameter being equal to, or only slightly smaller than, the inner diameter of the bottleneck. The inner membrane 523 has the convergent-divergent portion 523a and the approximately spherical end portion 52%. The closed interspace 524 between the two membranes is filled with a liquid or with a gas, such as air, which is preferably under a slight pressure. The closing member consists again of a cylindrical stopper 5% with an actuating lug 5960.

On mounting the closing device, first the closing member 502 alone is inserted into the bottleneck (FlGURE 6). The displacement member 506 is installed into the closing member 502 (FIGURE 7). In this way it expands the part 523a and displaces the gas or the liquid downward. In this manner the outer membrane 522 is expanded in such a way that it clasps the neck of the bottle and forms a secure, tight closure. For removal of the device, one proceeds in the reverse order.

The invention claimed is:

1. Closing device for a container, said device comprising: (A) a container closing member consisting of a centrally-hollow resilient plug adapted to be removably inserted into the outlet of an associated container and having at its inner end a closed chamber substantially spheritcal in shape and filled with a fluid, said chamber being formed by a pressure-deformable resilent wall having a first portion adjacent to the interior wall of said container in operating position and adapted by elastic deformation to contact said interior wall in sealing engagement, and said pressure-deformable resilient wall having a second portion disposed in operating position toward the outlet of said container and adjacent to the centrally-hollow portion of the outer end of said closing member; and (B) displacement means axially disposed through the centrally-hollow portion of the outer end of said closing memher and adapted to releasable adjustment against said second portion in order to produce an elastic deformation in said first portion by transmitted fluid pressure.

2. Closing device for a container, said device comprising: (A) a container closing member in the form of a resilient cap having an axially-disposed centrally-located opening in its top portion and a downwardly extending skirt portion with inwardly extending bead around its periphery and said cap being adapted to removably and exteriorly envelop the outlet of an associated container, said closing member having a closed chamber filled with fluid and consisting of a first annular cavity in said bead of said skirt portion having a pressure-deformable resilient first wall portion adjacent to the exterior wall of said container in operating position and adapted by elastic deformation to contact said exterior wall of the container in sealing engagement, a second annular cavity in the top of said cap disposed around said centrally-located opening and within the internal projection of the outlet of said container in operating position and having a pressure-deformable resilient second wall portion adjacent said centrally-located opening, and a channel connecting both of said cavities; and (B) displacement means disposed in said opening and adapted to releasable adjustment against said second wall portion in order to produce an elastic deformation in said first wall portion by transmitted fluid pressure.

3. Closing device according to claim 2 wherein said displacement means comprises a rigid threaded rod and cooperating nut extending through said centrally-located opening.

4. Closing device according to claim 2 wherein said displacement means comprises a rigid plunger adapted to be releasably inserted into said centrally-located opening.

5. Closing device according to cl im 2 wherein said displacement means comprises a rigid member of irregular transverse cross-section adapted to be turned in said centrally-located opening.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 8/1947 Scott 2l552 5/1961 Jente 215-41 

1. CLOSING DEVICE FOR A CONTAINER, SAID DEVICE COMPRISING: (A) A CONTAINER MEMBER CONSISTING OF A CENTRALLY-HOLLOW RESILIENT PLUG ADAPTED TO BE REMOVABLY INSERTED INTO THE OUTLET OF AN ASSOCIATED CONTAINER AND HAVING AT ITS INNER END A CLOSED CHAMBER SUBSTANTIALLY SPHERICAL IN SHAPE AND FILLED WITH A FLUID, SAID CHAMBER BEING FORMED BY A PRESSURE-DEFORMABLE RESILIENT WALL HAVING A FIRST PORTION ADJACENT TO THE INTERIOR WALL OF SAID CONTAINER IN OPERATING POSITION AND ADAPTED BY ELASTIC DEFORMATION TO CONTACT SAID INTERIOR WALL IN SEALING ENGAGEMENT, AND SAID PRESSURE-DEFORMABLE RESILIENT WALL HAVING A SECOND PORTION DISPOSED IN OPERATING POSITION TOWARD THE OUTLET OF SAID CONTAINER AND ADJACENT TO THE CENTRALLY-HOLLOW PORTION OF THE OUTER END OF SAID CLOSING MEMBER; AND (B) DISPLACEMENT MEANS AXIALLY DISPOSED THROUGH THE CENTRALLY-HOLLOW PORTION OF THE OUTER END OF SAID CLOSING MEMBER AND ADAPTED TO RELEASABLE ADJUSTMENT AGAINST SAID SECOND PORTION IN ORDER TO PRODUCE AN ELASTIC DEFORMATION IN SAID FIRST PORTION BY TRANSMITTED FLUID PRESSURE. 